Findlay head coach Ben Patey describes his team in a single word:  Evolving.  

The Trojans have just one win since the Cold Turkey Shootout – that was a 2-0 win over St. Francis last Friday in which sophomore goaltender Cody Mlsna posted a 24-save shutout.

Findlay has not scored more than four goals in a game since that weekend

“We’re a pretty young team versus last year,” said Patey.  “With a new nucleus of players and coaches we’re still working through some inherent growing pains, but I feel really good about our direction and potential.”

Findlay went 1-2-1 at last year’s tournament, finishing in ninth place.  They would obviously like to improve that mark but, for Patey and the Trojans, it is more about the process of developing their young roster.

“We’re looking to prove ourselves every time we take the ice,” said Patey.  “However, being a young team, our season’s success won’t be singularly defined by a game, tournament, district or state title, as there are many successes we expect to realize throughout the year.”

Findlay has a young defensive core led by junior Ethan Franks.

Up front, Patey has been impressed with the leadership of some of the younger players, singling out sophomore Michael Armstrong and Trey (junior) and Ryker (sophomore) Featheringham.

A year ago, Olentangy Liberty had their best finish in the eight years they have been coming to Strongsville, qualifying for the championship game before falling to St. Edward, 2-1.

The Patriots will try to take that final step after coming so close last year, and they could make an argument they are the favorites in the West Division based on their #2 state ranking in this week’s coach’s poll – that ranks them ahead of every other team at the tournament and behind only four-time defending state champion Saint Ignatius.

Senior Andrew Vidrick, last year’s First Team All-Capital Hockey Conference goaltender, splits time in net with junior Andy Keeler.  Vidrick made 37 saves in the 2-1 loss to St. Edward in last year’s championship game.  He also kicked out 30 of 32 shots in a key 4-2 win over Holy Name that secured the top spot in the group and the berth in the championship game.

Joining Vidrick among the key returning players for Liberty are forwards Korey Raymond (8-18-26), Nik Jozefiak (12-14-26) and Gage Schlotterbeck (14-12-26).  They are the top three scorers through the first dozen games of the season.

Top pairing defenseman, senior Keegan Pullins (nine goals and a team-leading 52 PIM last season) is also a Patriots player worth watching.

The 2018 Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament was very eventful for the St. Charles Cardinals.

A narrow loss to eventual champion St. Edward in the preliminary round kept St. Charles out of the championship game (and put the Eagles in) and slotted the Cardinals into the third-place game.  A loss to University School relegated them to a fourth-place finish.

Senior forward Marco Giambrone had a big tournament last year.  He scored four goals and added a pair of assists in an 8-0 win over host Padua.  He had a pair of goals, including a shorthanded marker with just over five minutes left in the game to complete a St. Charles comeback from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 3-3 tie with Shaker Heights.

Giambrone scored eight goals in three preliminary round games.

In the preliminary round of the 2019 tournament, the Cardinals will face three teams they played last year:  Padua, St. Edward and US.

If Giambrone can re-capture his flair for the dramatic in Strongsville this weekend the Cardinals may have a shot at climbing into the title game this time around.

After appearing in the title game at the Padua Tournament three years in a row (2014-2016), the Toledo St. Francis Knights have not managed to get back there for the last two seasons and dropped to 11th place in 2018.  They will be looking for a stronger showing this year.

Early-season results are mixed but encouraging, including a 3-2 loss to Northview and splitting a pair of games for St. Edward.  St. Francis got some positive reinforcement on Tuesday as they were ranked in the Top 10 in the state in the first coach’s poll of the season.

They also had a four-game losing streak going last week, but stopped the bleeding with a 5-2 win over Anthony Wayne on Sunday.

 “We have been dealing with injuries here at the start of the season,” said St. Francis head coach Chris Varga.  “But have been playing hard. We hope to compete with the top teams in the Northwest Ohio District.”

Senior Nick Coward is the St. Francis team captain and junior Billy Dressel the alternate.  You can look for seniors Thomas Barrow, Dawson Booth and Hunter McKie to lead the team along with Coward.  Devon Homier, Luc Kuhr and Nick Mack are newcomers to keep an eye out for.

The level of competition expected this weekend at the Padua Tournament is part of a larger effort by Varga to challenge his team.

“We have one of the hardest schedules in the state of Ohio to hopefully prepare us for the playoffs in February,” said Varga.  

Despite an eighth-place finish in the 2018 Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament, the St. John’s Titans had a great season last year in Matt Bollinger’s debut season as the head coach.  St. John’s put together a 18-12-2 record, won the NHC regular season title, and advanced to the District Final against Northview – knocking out rival St. Francis along the way.

The season came to an end with a 4-2 loss to Northview with a trip to Columbus on the line, but Bollinger was recognized as the NHC Red Division Coach of the Year for his efforts.

The Titans, ranked #5 in the state in this week’s coach’s poll, are picking up where they left off last season.

Nick Meader, who scored 30 goals last season and was honorable mention All-Ohio, and 2018-19 NHC Rookie of the Year Andrew Pelok (15-19-34) are key play-drivers for St. John’s and are the co-captains this season.

The Titans made a statement early in the year when they defeated #3 Gilmour Academy at the Cold Turkey Shootout.  In Strongsville this weekend, they will get chance to see how they stack up against more of the top teams from the Cleveland area:  University School, St. Edward and Holy Name.

The Sylvania Northview Wildcats are off to a strong start this season and the upcoming Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament provides them with an opportunity to take things to another level.

Northview has won seven of their first 10 games with all three of their losses – to St. Edward, St. Andrew’s (ON) and in overtime to St. John’s last weekend – have been by a single goal.

Head coach Steve Elliott says the Wildcats don’t feel the need to prove anything at the tournament, which draws many of the top teams from around the state.

“The competition is always strong and as much as anything it will continue to help our development as we build through our schedule,” said Elliott.  “As far as proving ourselves we don't worry about that. We like to have the respect of teams around the state but, ultimately, we are concerned with our locker room, staff and players.”

The Northview offense has gone through junior defenseman David Crandall all season.  Crandall produced 43 points (16-27-43) and was the NHC Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 but played for Belle Tire AAA last season.  He has figured in over half of the Wildcats’ goals this season, putting up an astounding 24 points (4-20-24) from the blue line in just 10 games.

In addition to Crandall’s offensive exploits, Northview also boasts three senior defensemen in Seth Orozco, Justin Beaverson and Spencer Atkins.

Seniors Jeffrey Wood and Jimmy Roberts have been driving play at the other end of the rink, combining for 20 goals.

Junior Tyler Clem was the only goalie to appear in the Northview crease last season and has continued his iron man streak between the pipes, playing every minute of every game, stopping 89.1% of the shots he has faced for a 2.51 goals-against average.

Northview went 1-2-1 at last year’s Padua Tournament, finishing in sixth place out of 12 teams.